I got a question about upper arm workouts. Normally, my workouts that work the upper arm area are as follows:
standard bicep curls
rotated bicep curls (as in, bicep curls with palms facing each other, or the floor, so it works my forearm muscles and brachialis as well)
tricep curls (holding a dumbbell behind the head with two arms, and lifting up and down)
and there are some exercises that work the upper arm as secondary
bench presses
lateral pulls
dips
etc.
This works out my upper arm pretty well, but I've noticed that the upper arm muscle between the biceps and the triceps is weak as hell. I don't know the name of the muscle, but, it's the one behind the upper arm... if your triceps is considered the "outer-back" upper arm muscle, this one is the "inner-back" one. I don't know if this is confusing.
Anyway, I need a way to workout this muscle because as my biceps are getting bigger, they are starting to "sag" inwards, with no support underneath.
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Blake TDo you have enemies then?Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.Registered Userregular
Cardio is cardio and you can do it however you want. Some use the treadmill, some ride the bikes, some run on tracks and some swim. Whatever you want is fine. But you'd probably be better off doing both cardio and resistance training, for a few reasons.
First of all, cardio is boring and lifting is fun. I have a really hard time getting myself to go to the track, but I always feel crappy when I have to miss a day of lifting. The hope of setting a new bench PR might just make the motivation part a lot easier. It's also important to build muscle because, well, skinny guys aren't necessarily much better off than fat guys. It's possible to be skinny and covered in fat, and it sucks. You'll look better and be stronger if you lift while cutting down. A side-effect of this is that your weight will drop slower because of the added muscle mass, but your body fat will go down.
See, it's people like you that gives cardio a bad name! (You don't get it, it's cool)
Cardio is fantastic (though I'm personally not a treadmill person I either do streets or I do an excersise bike, I have heard the treadmills are bad for your knees - don't ask me for a source, this is purely what I've heard). I like going outside because you are going somewhere, doing something different see new places.
Running also provides you with an awesome Zen outlook on life. I heard someone say once, if you can run for three hours while thinking of a problem and not solve it, it probably isn't worth knowing about. Running gives you awesome time for personal reflection, you don't need no iPod. Running is also something you can do no matter where you are (Camp X-ray excluded) it's the ultimate excersise because it involves such little stuff.
For the guy who's getting puffed. Don't give up on it. Firstly did you warm up and stretch? Secondly the single biggest thing about running is purely about rythym, fuck how fast you are going as long as you are getting air time in your jog you are going fine. The other thing is are you going too fast on the treadmil. You will astound yourself once you get your rythym, speed and determination (easily the biggest part) down pat. From the sounds of it though, you aren't quite ready to go for a 20 minute jog. So build up and make sure you give yourself rest days. Ignore the stiffness, after a week it will go.
It is true that running on hard surfaces (with bad shoes that cannot minimize the force of impact very well) for extended periods of time (we're talking months if not years) causes problems in your knee-joints.
Anyway, for cardio, you won't start burning fat until 10-15 minutes into it. Your body simply won't tap into your fat reserves for energy until then. So if you're thinking "oh, I'll do cardio for a bit, then do weight training, that way not only will I lose fat, I'll also build muscle" you're probably wrong, at least on the first part.
you could get something like a pedometer i have no idea how effective they are though.
As for the arm workout, you can cut out one of the bicep exercises, your triceps are getting plenty with the bench press drips and extensions. Your upper arm is really only those two muscles, the tricep has 3 heads and makes up about 70% of your upper arm and your bicep has two heads. I'm not too sure what you mean about your biceps sagging but that can happen because they are muscular but not flexed. If you shake your arm back and forth you can make your triceps "flap" same with your biceps but when you flex them they can be really hard.
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DynagripBreak me a million heartsHoustonRegistered User, ClubPAregular
For the guy who's getting puffed. Don't give up on it. Firstly did you warm up and stretch? Secondly the single biggest thing about running is purely about rythym, fuck how fast you are going as long as you are getting air time in your jog you are going fine. The other thing is are you going too fast on the treadmil. You will astound yourself once you get your rythym, speed and determination (easily the biggest part) down pat. From the sounds of it though, you aren't quite ready to go for a 20 minute jog. So build up and make sure you give yourself rest days. Ignore the stiffness, after a week it will go.
This is what I figured, so I was just trying to build up the energy to jog for a long distance straight.
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DynagripBreak me a million heartsHoustonRegistered User, ClubPAregular
It is true that running on hard surfaces (with bad shoes that cannot minimize the force of impact very well) for extended periods of time (we're talking months if not years) causes problems in your knee-joints.
.
Yes. It will tear them up. I mean, it's not even hard to see why. The wear and tear is fucking extreme.
Also, I've heard really bad things about running in sand, like on a beach...
I have access to a campus gym that has all the equipment, I believe. I am very new to this and have no idea what to do. Can somebody give me a general 7-day outline of what workouts to do?
I have access to a campus gym that has all the equipment, I believe. I am very new to this and have no idea what to do. Can somebody give me a general 7-day outline of what workouts to do?
I've been doing this workout since about August to help lose weight and get back the muscle I had. All in all, it was a rousing a success. My max bench is back over 300 lbs again, among other things.
However, I believe its time for me to tone, and that's not something I've been good at, mainly because while I understand the concepts I don't know how to apply them. I'm going to post this workout here, so you have an idea of what I was doing. If you could give me a good toning workout, I'd appreciate it. Note: This is just my basic work out. Through out the weeks, I'd change things up, add things in, to break routine so I don't get stuck in a mold.
Routine 1: Chest & Tris
Bench Press 12 X 3
Incline Bench Press 8 X 2
Dumbbell Bench Press 8 X 2
Dumbbell Pec Fly 12 X 3
Dip 10 X 3
Supine Tricep Extension 12 X 3
Tricep Push Down 10 X 2
Routine 2: Back and Biceps
Chin Up 12 X 2
Lat Pulldown 10 X 3
Seated Row 8 X 2
Dumbbell Row 8 X 2
Straight Bar Curl 12 X 3
Preacher Curl 12 X 3
Dumbbell Curl 8 X 2
Routine 3: Legs
Squat 10 X 3
Leg Press 10 X 3
Leg Extension 10 X 3
Straight Leg Deadlift 10 X 2
Seated Leg Curl 12 X 3
Heel Raise 12 X 3
Seated Calf 12 X 3
Quick question pertaining to lifting. When I first started lifting weights, I used to be sore for a day or two after, but now I don't feel any soreness and barely any tightness at all the following day. Is this normal or am I not working hard enough? I try to do reps to near failure at the end of the set and yet I feel fine the next day, like I could do it all over again.
Quick question pertaining to lifting. When I first started lifting weights, I used to be sore for a day or two after, but now I don't feel any soreness and barely any tightness at all the following day. Is this normal or am I not working hard enough? I try to do reps to near failure at the end of the set and yet I feel fine the next day, like I could do it all over again.
You don't feel sore anymore because your muscles are used to doing work. However that definitely doesn't mean you aren't working them out hard enough, so don't worry about it. Assuming you're doing it for muscle gains, as long as you work them to near failure you're good.
Though there is a difference between failure from the weight being really heavy and failure from doing a shitload of reps. Make sure that your failures are the former, not the latter.
siliconenhanced: I would love to critique that plan because I see a ton wrong with it, but I'm a weakling who just happens to know stuff while you're pretty strong so it'd feel wrong. I just don't get, though, why you're doing squats AND leg press, chin-ups AND lat pulldown, three kinds of curls, etc. There's also no reason to do regular bench AND dumbbell bench.
This isn't even getting into the issue of "toning".
also, are your "12x3" 3 sets of 12 or 12 sets of 3? I'm guessing the first one -- just to avoid confusion, it's usually written the other way around.
So uh, this is kind of a strange question I suppose, but whatever. I lost about 50 pounds over the course of 8 or 9 months, went from 280 lb to 230. I have stayed right around 230 for the past 5 or 6 months, and there still seems to be about as much fat in my cheeks as there was a year ago. I've certainly noticed a difference in stomach/waist size, but it seems I should be able to lose something in the cheeks/neck. Is there something I could do to reduce fat in areas that can't really be exercised?
So uh, this is kind of a strange question I suppose, but whatever. I lost about 50 pounds over the course of 8 or 9 months, went from 280 lb to 230. I have stayed right around 230 for the past 5 or 6 months, and there still seems to be about as much fat in my cheeks as there was a year ago. I've certainly noticed a difference in stomach/waist size, but it seems I should be able to lose something in the cheeks/neck. Is there something I could do to reduce fat in areas that can't really be exercised?
Keep losing weight.
Spot reduction is a myth. Working out your stomach does not make you lose fat in your stomach; losing fat makes you lose fat in your stomach. Depending on your genetics and environmental factors we don't yet know how to control, different areas of your body will get/lose fat at different rates. Most of my fat goes to my stomach, face, and ass, but my legs look amazing. Someone else might have the opposite problem, with fatty arms/legs, but less fatty stomach/ass. In general, guys fat tends to go to their stomach. There is some new research that shows that certain retroviral drugs used to combat AIDS may cause hormonal changes that signal your body to send fat to certain areas; there's research continuing in this area, and within 10-20 years, we may be able to control exactly where our fat goes. However, right now, you just need to keep losing weight. It'll come off of your face eventually.
Squat jumps
Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and toes pointed slightly outward. Descend into a squat until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Explode upward; as your hips and knees approach full extension, jump off the balls of your feet. Upon landing, move immediately into another squat. Look straight ahead and keep your torso and neck muscles tight throughout.
I prefer the same thing, but with a lunge position. They're fucking hell when you're doing them, but if you focus on intensity and rapidity while you do it, in 20 reps you'll burn more calories than an hour of jogging.
Bar raises
Something my friend and I invented while working out. Get a standard bench bar(or lighter if you're in less than athletic shape). Hold it at your waist with both hands, and moving only your shoulders, raise the bar to chin level. Hold for 10 seconds, and slowly lower it back to start position. You won't be able to do very many of these, trust me.
If you find cardio too boring or too easy, use a jump rope. 15 minutes of hard core jump roping will make you think twice before ordering that McFlurry.
The single most important piece of advice I can give you is: find a workout buddy. I am the laziest motherfucker when I'm alone, but put me with a group and I'll be damned if I'm the one falling behind. More importantly, it makes the whole experience more enjoyable.
siliconenhanced: I would love to critique that plan because I see a ton wrong with it, but I'm a weakling who just happens to know stuff while you're pretty strong so it'd feel wrong. I just don't get, though, why you're doing squats AND leg press, chin-ups AND lat pulldown, three kinds of curls, etc. There's also no reason to do regular bench AND dumbbell bench.
This isn't even getting into the issue of "toning".
also, are your "12x3" 3 sets of 12 or 12 sets of 3? I'm guessing the first one -- just to avoid confusion, it's usually written the other way around.
Yeah, its 3 sets of 12.
I got it from a book I picked up, if I could find it in my boxes of books I'd put it on here. I found myself sore after it, but never pathetically so, and it seemed to work just fine.
But yeah, toning is what I need now. I'm the type of guy who bulks up ridiculously fast, but I'd like to shift gears now and get some cut in there.
Drink water. Constantly. Drink water even when you aren't thirsty. It will help you burn fat faster and generally keep your energy levels up.
Sami's Unhealthy Greco-Roman Starvation Tip of the Day
So you're at your max for daily caloric intake. Still hungry, aren't ya? Get munching on that celery, it's negative calories after all. You could also eat some icecubes, or if you don't want to extra frigidity associated with ice, eat toilet paper. It will fill you up, but it's all cellulose, so you won't digest it.
Bar raises
Something my friend and I invented while working out. Get a standard bench bar(or lighter if you're in less than athletic shape). Hold it at your waist with both hands, and moving only your shoulders, raise the bar to chin level. Hold for 10 seconds, and slowly lower it back to start position. You won't be able to do very many of these, trust me.
I believe that's called an Upright Row. Works your traps.
Drink water. Constantly. Drink water even when you aren't thirsty. It will help you burn fat faster and generally keep your energy levels up.
Sami's Unhealthy Greco-Roman Starvation Tip of the Day
So you're at your max for daily caloric intake. Still hungry, aren't ya? Get munching on that celery, it's negative calories after all. You could also eat some icecubes, or if you don't want to extra frigidity associated with ice, eat toilet paper. It will fill you up, but it's all cellulose, so you won't digest it.
Umm... I'm not sure if "eat toilet paper" is good advice.
So I just started going to the gym with my sister and am Looking for a few bits of advice.
Things I've learned from this thread that I have been doing wrong:
- I was running before I was lifting, gonna change that starting tommorow.
- Full body workout instead of diff muscle groups different days. Easy Enough
Now, the gym I go to one of those chain type places... and frankly, the equipment sucks. I'm not gonna complain however since my membership is being paid by my uncle. There are basically about 40 each of every cardio machine known to man, and about 2 each of every type of weight machines( by type I mean theres the tricep machine, the bench press machine etc.)
However, all we have as far as free weights go we have a full set of dumbbells, and thats about it. the barbell/benches they have are all set up on tracks, so I don't see the difference between them and the machines. Maybe I'm wrong here? We also have the cable machine like this http://www.t-nation.com/img/photos/267Image16.jpg
There aren't any freestanding barbells for squats, and no pull-up bar either(but I have a home solution for that).
With all that being said, can I get an effective resistance training with just the machines? I want to lose weight more than building muscle, should I focus more on cardio then resistance training? Like, I understand that I should build muscle too cause it burns fat better, but what's the happy medium?
I put this in it's own thread, which I promptly deleted after seeing this sticky. It's primarily a diet question, but hopefully I can get suggestions from people in here...
Okay, so May of 2005 I got on my scale and I decided that just over 300 pounds was way too much. Especially since I was getting married in April of 2006.
I started Atkins, and daily vitamins. Basically my diet consisted of eggs for breakfast, chicken nuggets or four Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers with no bun (Wrapped in lettuce) for lunch, and for dinner I'd have some chicken or maybe a cheeseburger. And diet coke, lots of fucking diet coke. 3 a day or more. Which was really bad, I know.
I didn't exercize much. I'd get on the treadmill and walk for 20 minutes, at least one mile. But I'd only do it a few times a week.
Cut to April of 2006, I'd gone from 304 pounds to 190. It was the first time since High School I'd been under 200. I felt better than I can ever remember.
After the wedding, I moved cross country and fell out of losing (or even maintaining) my weight.
I'm up to around 220 and I don't want to go any higher. A few weeks ago I cut caffine out of my diet completely. When I have a carbonated drink, it's Diet Sprite Zero, but I've been drinking a lot of water.
I started atkins last week, but it's REALLY hard to stay on. I'm craving sugars a lot more than I was last time I started the diet, and the lack of options on this diet is starting to really get to me. Also, I want to actually start getting into better shape and building a little more muscle than I already have.
So I need suggestions. What's a good, healthy, diet to be on that'll help me lose weight but at the same time will keep me energized enough that I can work out more often?
I put this in it's own thread, which I promptly deleted after seeing this sticky. It's primarily a diet question, but hopefully I can get suggestions from people in here...
Okay, so May of 2005 I got on my scale and I decided that just over 300 pounds was way too much. Especially since I was getting married in April of 2006.
I started Atkins, and daily vitamins. Basically my diet consisted of eggs for breakfast, chicken nuggets or four Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers with no bun (Wrapped in lettuce) for lunch, and for dinner I'd have some chicken or maybe a cheeseburger. And diet coke, lots of fucking diet coke. 3 a day or more. Which was really bad, I know.
I didn't exercize much. I'd get on the treadmill and walk for 20 minutes, at least one mile. But I'd only do it a few times a week.
Cut to April of 2006, I'd gone from 304 pounds to 190. It was the first time since High School I'd been under 200. I felt better than I can ever remember.
After the wedding, I moved cross country and fell out of losing (or even maintaining) my weight.
I'm up to around 220 and I don't want to go any higher. A few weeks ago I cut caffine out of my diet completely. When I have a carbonated drink, it's Diet Sprite Zero, but I've been drinking a lot of water.
I started atkins last week, but it's REALLY hard to stay on. I'm craving sugars a lot more than I was last time I started the diet, and the lack of options on this diet is starting to really get to me. Also, I want to actually start getting into better shape and building a little more muscle than I already have.
So I need suggestions. What's a good, healthy, diet to be on that'll help me lose weight but at the same time will keep me energized enough that I can work out more often?
Staying on Atkins long-term is a terrible idea. IMO, going on it short-term is a bad idea too, but whatever works for you.
Diet cola isn't really all that bad, nor is caffeine (a little caffeine is actually good for you).
Just put together a balanced, 2000ish calorie daily diet, full of things you like to eat. Eat like five or six times a day, do some cardio, and you'll be good to go. Once you hit the weight you want, bump it up to 2200-2400 calories a day, and you should be good to go.
Foods that are good: sandwiches made with whole wheat bread, especially tuna, chicken, or other fish. If you don't like wheat bread, go with a whole wheat wrap. You can do crab salad, too. Fruit and cottage cheese. Chicken and fish in general are good. Eggs. Yogurt (go with the light, fat-free stuff; should have around as much protein as it does carbs, otherwise it's not so much "yogurt" as it is "highly-processed sugar.")
You also want to get a lot of calories at breakfast. It should be your largest meal of the day, at least 500 calories. I usually do 2 eggs and a bowl of generic Total with 1% milk.
If you're hungry then you should eat. A lot of people trying to lose weight don't eat enough.
What does that mean?
He means that a lot of people who diet starve themselves, which makes their body eat muscle, which isn't good for you. You want to lose fat, not muscle.
Also, how much water a day should one have? I try to have around 2 litres.
Okay I get you, I'm trying to lose weight so I'm avoiding thigns like pasta etc. is this okay?
I'm trying to eat a lot of vegetables and stuff though, so I don't think I'm starving myself, also I've been cutting out all junk food which i think will go a long way.
Staying on Atkins long-term is a terrible idea. IMO, going on it short-term is a bad idea too, but whatever works for you.
Diet cola isn't really all that bad, nor is caffeine (a little caffeine is actually good for you).
Just put together a balanced, 2000ish calorie daily diet, full of things you like to eat. Eat like five or six times a day, do some cardio, and you'll be good to go. Once you hit the weight you want, bump it up to 2200-2400 calories a day, and you should be good to go.
Foods that are good: sandwiches made with whole wheat bread, especially tuna, chicken, or other fish. If you don't like wheat bread, go with a whole wheat wrap. You can do crab salad, too. Fruit and cottage cheese. Chicken and fish in general are good. Eggs. Yogurt (go with the light, fat-free stuff; should have around as much protein as it does carbs, otherwise it's not so much "yogurt" as it is "highly-processed sugar.")
You also want to get a lot of calories at breakfast. It should be your largest meal of the day, at least 500 calories. I usually do 2 eggs and a bowl of generic Total with 1% milk.
Diet Coke worked isn't all that bad, but when I was having upwards of 6 a day and very little water I figured I should just stop.
I can't really knock Atkins just because I did lose over 100 pounds in 11 months, but the lack of options, and the lack of energy I had when on the diet is the main deciding factor in me asking for help.
Thank you very much for the advice, I think switching to a 2000 calorie diet sounds like a really good idea.
Okay I get you, I'm trying to lose weight so I'm avoiding thigns like pasta etc. is this okay?
I'm trying to eat a lot of vegetables and stuff though, so I don't think I'm starving myself, also I've been cutting out all junk food which i think will go a long way.
I'm gonna guess you're a male in the 16-25ish range. You should start counting calories if you want to lose weight, and aim for about 2000-2400 calories per day.
Cutting out things like pasta is good, but make sure you replace them. The general rule of thumb is 30/30/40, or 30% calories from fat, 30% calories from carbohydrates, and 40% of your calories from protein (fats have way more calories per gram, so this is actually substantially fewer grams of fat than grams of carbs). In actuality, you get 9 calories from 1 gram of fat, and 4 calories from one gram of carbohydrates or protein.
Also, try to get 25 grams of dietary fiber per day. You don't have to count this as carbs, or, really, anything, since your body won't process it. It just helps to keep things clean and running, and you'll find that if you haven't been getting enough fiber, you can lose a lot of weight just by hitting that 25 grams for a couple of weeks.
Staying on Atkins long-term is a terrible idea. IMO, going on it short-term is a bad idea too, but whatever works for you.
Diet cola isn't really all that bad, nor is caffeine (a little caffeine is actually good for you).
Just put together a balanced, 2000ish calorie daily diet, full of things you like to eat. Eat like five or six times a day, do some cardio, and you'll be good to go. Once you hit the weight you want, bump it up to 2200-2400 calories a day, and you should be good to go.
Foods that are good: sandwiches made with whole wheat bread, especially tuna, chicken, or other fish. If you don't like wheat bread, go with a whole wheat wrap. You can do crab salad, too. Fruit and cottage cheese. Chicken and fish in general are good. Eggs. Yogurt (go with the light, fat-free stuff; should have around as much protein as it does carbs, otherwise it's not so much "yogurt" as it is "highly-processed sugar.")
You also want to get a lot of calories at breakfast. It should be your largest meal of the day, at least 500 calories. I usually do 2 eggs and a bowl of generic Total with 1% milk.
Diet Coke worked isn't all that bad, but when I was having upwards of 6 a day and very little water I figured I should just stop.
I can't really knock Atkins just because I did lose over 100 pounds in 11 months, but the lack of options, and the lack of energy I had when on the diet is the main deciding factor in me asking for help.
Thank you very much for the advice, I think switching to a 2000 calorie diet sounds like a really good idea.
Oh, I'm not saying that the Atkins thing isn't a net good for a lot of people; however, it does sap your energy considerably, which makes it hard to do cardiovascular exercise.
I lost 50 pounds in 6 months by just eating fewer calories, and getting my exercise. Not only did I lose weight, but I substantially increased my energy level, and helped out my heart a lot (when I give blood, the guys who take my blood pressure are always shocked that a guy my size has a heart in such good shape).
So, I'm off to college this fall, and as of right now, I'm hovering at just under 200 pounds at about 5'10" (maybe slightly taller); basically, I'm not a whale, but I'm certainly a bit... pudgey. I've been this way for years now, and while I'm better as of right now than I have been in a little while, I would still love it if I could put as much of the flab behind me as possible when I move on to higher education. Realistically, I have 7 months or so to get as healthy as possible (healthy is the operative word, I think).
I've started working out now. Because I'm out of shape, I'm sort of easing myself into it. I'm just starting, but my plan thus far has been 20 minutes on a bike machine (which has amounted to about 7 miles each time), which I'd like to bump up to 30 by the end of the week.
Now, I realize weightlifting is a large part of losing weight, but I figured I'd first get some cardio down to improve my overall health before I do any of that. I've checked out a couple of links on this page, and they've been helpful, but they're also somewhat intimidating, so I have a couple of questions, if you all would be so kind as to answer them:
- Drinks? I've done away with the soda, and while I mostly drink water, I must admit I appreciate something with a little flavor. Vitamin Water seems good to me, but it seems like a bottle of that isn't exactly light on the calories. Is that a good thing to drink occasionally? Any other suggestions?
- Daily caloric intake? What's a good number?
- Realistically, and assuming I keep up with this whole fitness thing, which I am really going to endeavor to, will I be able to see significant weight loss in my 7 month period? Again, a large part of any workout should be to just attain healthiness, I think (the whole "MUST LOSE 200 POUNDS IN TWO WEEKS ON THE SUBWAY DIET" thing doesn't seem logical or intelligent to me), but hey, I want to look good, too.
- How should I go about exercising to attain this goal as efficiently as possible?
Thank you so much, guys. I realize it appears that I'm a new member, but I've lurked for quite some time, too!
So, I'm off to college this fall, and as of right now, I'm hovering at just under 200 pounds at about 5'10" (maybe slightly taller); basically, I'm not a whale, but I'm certainly a bit... pudgey. I've been this way for years now, and while I'm better as of right now than I have been in a little while, I would still love it if I could put as much of the flab behind me as possible when I move on to higher education. Realistically, I have 7 months or so to get as healthy as possible (healthy is the operative word, I think).
I've started working out now. Because I'm out of shape, I'm sort of easing myself into it. I'm just starting, but my plan thus far has been 20 minutes on a bike machine (which has amounted to about 7 miles each time), which I'd like to bump up to 30 by the end of the week.
Now, I realize weightlifting is a large part of losing weight, but I figured I'd first get some cardio down to improve my overall health before I do any of that.
Weightlifting will actually cause you to put on weight, in the form of muscle. However, for every pound of muscle, your body burns 50 "sitting on your ass" calories a day. So, while it has something to do with losing weight, it is by no means required, and really, is only secondarily related to it.
I've checked out a couple of links on this page, and they've been helpful, but they're also somewhat intimidating, so I have a couple of questions, if you all would be so kind as to answer them:
- Drinks? I've done away with the soda, and while I mostly drink water, I must admit I appreciate something with a little flavor. Vitamin Water seems good to me, but it seems like a bottle of that isn't exactly light on the calories. Is that a good thing to drink occasionally? Any other suggestions?
Coffee and tea are both good for you, in moderation. As an occasional drink just to get some flavor, diet cola is fine, and non-caloric.
- Daily caloric intake? What's a good number?
Assuming you're an 18-25ish male, 2000-2400 is good, probably hovering around 2200.
- Realistically, and assuming I keep up with this whole fitness thing, which I am really going to endeavor to, will I be able to see significant weight loss in my 7 month period? Again, a large part of any workout should be to just attain healthiness, I think (the whole "MUST LOSE 200 POUNDS IN TWO WEEKS ON THE SUBWAY DIET" thing doesn't seem logical or intelligent to me), but hey, I want to look good, too.
You can healthily lose 1-2 pounds a week. More than that isn't healthy, though you may see a big initial loss when you start eating healthily (though, that's not likely, since you're not hugely overweight).
- How should I go about exercising to attain this goal as efficiently as possible?
The best way to get in better shape, and be healthy, is the triumvirate: diet, cardio, and weightlifting.
Prime is doing a three-day rotation, six days a week. Twenty minutes or so of cardio, plus doing some weightlifting, broken up by muscle group. For instance, Monday and Thursday are biceps/back, Tuesday and Friday are triceps/chest/shoulders, and Wednesday and Saturday are legs/abs.
Obviously, this is fairly time-intensive, but you'll see some pretty serious gains from it if you have that level of dedication.
I've been lifting 3 days a week for 4/5 months, and while I've seen great increases in strength and I have become more chiseled, I've noticed that my weight went down 2 pounds.
Let it be known I've never had more than a thin layer of baby fat that somewhat hides my abs (though they are a bit visible). If I did any cardio it'd go away real quick.
I've been lifting 3 days a week for 4/5 months, and while I've seen great increases in strength and I have become more chiseled, I've noticed that my weight went down 2 pounds.
Let it be known I've never had more than a thin layer of baby fat that somewhat hides my abs (though they are a bit visible). If I did any cardio it'd go away real quick.
Anyways, what gives? Not enough nutrition?
I'm honestly not that knowledgeable about putting on a lot of muscle; like, if you have trouble in spite of lifting weights, I'm not sure what to tell you, because I can pretty much show up at the gym and pick up some stuff, and I'll put on muscle, no problem.
From what my friend who has a fucking bitch of a time putting on muscle (he's a skinny fuck) tells me, you need a shitload of protein, and you need to lift a shitload of weights. Have you tried reducing reps and increasing weight more? Do you have time to try a 6-day a week cycle instead of 3 days a week? How much do you eat?
You may want to try eating more protein (possibly in the form of whey), and making sure you get 20 or so grams immediately after working out (preferably within about 10 minutes or so, but anytime in the next 45 minutes or so helps considerably, according to a lot of health magazine articles posted at my gym).
As for that layer of fat, try throwing 15 minutes of intense cardio in at the end of your weightlifting (do a 5-minute warmup and a 5-minute cooldown; running, if you're not very big), combined with increasing your calorie intake. That should help you burn off that last bit of fat, plus it'll be good for your heart.
If you're not seeing gains, the key is to change something. If you can, talk to a personal trainer.
Like people have been saying, or if they haven't then great:
I used to be a bouncer and this sort of stuff was, well, more important to me then but I did pick up some really useful information.
Resistance training and cardio.
Lean muscle mass will help your body burn fat more efficiently while you're not actually working out and Cardio provides a large but temporal boost in the fat burning process.
One thing that I see a lot of people forgetting is to eat. Be sure to consume a high level of protein within thirty minutes of your workout. Protein is necessary to repair the muscle which you spent all that time working on. The sooner you can get the protein in your system the better your body will react to the work you just put into it. I like egg whites over protein drinks, but that's just a preference. This goes for both Strength training and Cardio.
This next part is a bit difficult for me:
Do Cardio either before you lift or on days you don't lift. Cardio before lifting will let you burn through a lot of the fat you've built up over the near past and lifting afterwards will allow you to maintain a lowered but still higher than at rest heart rate and prolongs the efficient cardio burn.
However, some may find it difficult to lift after doing a cardio workout. As your body gets used to the change you'll find this isn't the case anymore (naturally).
Another reason to do Cardio before Strength:
For the most part your body can only take about 45 minutes of weight training before it releases a chemical which drastically slows the rate at which muscle is being broken down (you must break down muscle to repair it with protein into a more efficient member of your body). So, do not strength train for more than 45 minutes. Once you hit that mark you should finish your last set and get some protein in your system because your muscles are already rebuilding.
Beyond that, my routine is as follows:
Squats. Just good ol' core. Do these and then whatever 'area' things you'd like to work on.
Bench. The second core. Again, do these first and then whatever other 'area' afterwards.
Dead lift. The final of my triad.
By 'area' I mean, typically, lower body, upper body and trunk. There are too many exercises for these areas to detail here so do what you think feels best.
I won't talk about reps vs weight. That's a whole difference in what is wanted by the individual sort of issue. I hope I've contributed in some way to an all around useful understanding of exercise and health.
Do Cardio either before you lift or on days you don't lift. Cardio before lifting will let you burn through a lot of the fat you've built up over the near past and lifting afterwards will allow you to maintain a lowered but still higher than at rest heart rate and prolongs the efficient cardio burn.
However, some may find it difficult to lift after doing a cardio workout. As your body gets used to the change you'll find this isn't the case anymore (naturally).
Another reason to do Cardio before Strength:
For the most part your body can only take about 45 minutes of weight training before it releases a chemical which drastically slows the rate at which muscle is being broken down (you must break down muscle to repair it with protein into a more efficient member of your body). So, do not strength train for more than 45 minutes. Once you hit that mark you should finish your last set and get some protein in your system because your muscles are already rebuilding.
Y'know, you're the first person I think I've ever heard say this, but I have to say that after a long time with little-to-no success at losing weight while exercising/dieting, I moved my cardio to before my weightlifting and had a shitload of success. I don't know if that was responsible for it or not (I changed some other things, too), but I could get a lot more cardio done, it didn't hurt my weightlifting much at all once I got used to it, and I lost a lot of weight very quickly.
So, this is a second of the "cardio before weightlifting if you want to lose weight" advice.
Keep in mind, though, that a lot of people have different levels of success with different things. What works for one person, or even "in general" may not work for you.
Do Cardio either before you lift or on days you don't lift. Cardio before lifting will let you burn through a lot of the fat you've built up over the near past and lifting afterwards will allow you to maintain a lowered but still higher than at rest heart rate and prolongs the efficient cardio burn.
However, some may find it difficult to lift after doing a cardio workout. As your body gets used to the change you'll find this isn't the case anymore (naturally).
Another reason to do Cardio before Strength:
For the most part your body can only take about 45 minutes of weight training before it releases a chemical which drastically slows the rate at which muscle is being broken down (you must break down muscle to repair it with protein into a more efficient member of your body). So, do not strength train for more than 45 minutes. Once you hit that mark you should finish your last set and get some protein in your system because your muscles are already rebuilding.
Y'know, you're the first person I think I've ever heard say this, but I have to say that after a long time with little-to-no success at losing weight while exercising/dieting, I moved my cardio to before my weightlifting and had a shitload of success. I don't know if that was responsible for it or not (I changed some other things, too), but I could get a lot more cardio done, it didn't hurt my weightlifting much at all once I got used to it, and I lost a lot of weight very quickly.
So, this is a second of the "cardio before weightlifting if you want to lose weight" advice.
Keep in mind, though, that a lot of people have different levels of success with different things. What works for one person, or even "in general" may not work for you.
Which is one of the more frustrating things about fitness; the sheer variability between bodies and body type. All that can really be said is what works for you and what typically works in general.
If you have been working out, have gained strength but not muscle, that means you aren't lifting heavy enough.
Solution: Increase weight and number of sets, decrease the number of repetitions.
If I am doing bicep curls with 20lbs dumbbells, 3 sets of 12, this won't give me much muscle. On the other hand, I can be sure to see noticable increase in muscle size if I change it to 30lbs, 5 sets of 4 (4 is in this case very close to exhaustion for me).
I've read on some places like T-nation that the idea is that muscle gains are directly proportional to how much extra work your muscle does in how little amount of time.
You have to be careful however about injuries and such. When you're switching from a 10/3 to, say, a 4/6, it's easy to injure yourself because you aren't used to the heavy weight.
Posts
I got a question about upper arm workouts. Normally, my workouts that work the upper arm area are as follows:
standard bicep curls
rotated bicep curls (as in, bicep curls with palms facing each other, or the floor, so it works my forearm muscles and brachialis as well)
tricep curls (holding a dumbbell behind the head with two arms, and lifting up and down)
and there are some exercises that work the upper arm as secondary
bench presses
lateral pulls
dips
etc.
This works out my upper arm pretty well, but I've noticed that the upper arm muscle between the biceps and the triceps is weak as hell. I don't know the name of the muscle, but, it's the one behind the upper arm... if your triceps is considered the "outer-back" upper arm muscle, this one is the "inner-back" one. I don't know if this is confusing.
Anyway, I need a way to workout this muscle because as my biceps are getting bigger, they are starting to "sag" inwards, with no support underneath.
See, it's people like you that gives cardio a bad name! (You don't get it, it's cool)
Cardio is fantastic (though I'm personally not a treadmill person I either do streets or I do an excersise bike, I have heard the treadmills are bad for your knees - don't ask me for a source, this is purely what I've heard). I like going outside because you are going somewhere, doing something different see new places.
Running also provides you with an awesome Zen outlook on life. I heard someone say once, if you can run for three hours while thinking of a problem and not solve it, it probably isn't worth knowing about. Running gives you awesome time for personal reflection, you don't need no iPod. Running is also something you can do no matter where you are (Camp X-ray excluded) it's the ultimate excersise because it involves such little stuff.
For the guy who's getting puffed. Don't give up on it. Firstly did you warm up and stretch? Secondly the single biggest thing about running is purely about rythym, fuck how fast you are going as long as you are getting air time in your jog you are going fine. The other thing is are you going too fast on the treadmil. You will astound yourself once you get your rythym, speed and determination (easily the biggest part) down pat. From the sounds of it though, you aren't quite ready to go for a 20 minute jog. So build up and make sure you give yourself rest days. Ignore the stiffness, after a week it will go.
Satans..... hints.....
Anyway, for cardio, you won't start burning fat until 10-15 minutes into it. Your body simply won't tap into your fat reserves for energy until then. So if you're thinking "oh, I'll do cardio for a bit, then do weight training, that way not only will I lose fat, I'll also build muscle" you're probably wrong, at least on the first part.
As for the arm workout, you can cut out one of the bicep exercises, your triceps are getting plenty with the bench press drips and extensions. Your upper arm is really only those two muscles, the tricep has 3 heads and makes up about 70% of your upper arm and your bicep has two heads. I'm not too sure what you mean about your biceps sagging but that can happen because they are muscular but not flexed. If you shake your arm back and forth you can make your triceps "flap" same with your biceps but when you flex them they can be really hard.
This is what I figured, so I was just trying to build up the energy to jog for a long distance straight.
Also, I've heard really bad things about running in sand, like on a beach...
His simple beginner plan should be fine for starting out or you can pick one of the other programs he links.
However, I believe its time for me to tone, and that's not something I've been good at, mainly because while I understand the concepts I don't know how to apply them. I'm going to post this workout here, so you have an idea of what I was doing. If you could give me a good toning workout, I'd appreciate it. Note: This is just my basic work out. Through out the weeks, I'd change things up, add things in, to break routine so I don't get stuck in a mold.
Routine 1: Chest & Tris
Bench Press 12 X 3
Incline Bench Press 8 X 2
Dumbbell Bench Press 8 X 2
Dumbbell Pec Fly 12 X 3
Dip 10 X 3
Supine Tricep Extension 12 X 3
Tricep Push Down 10 X 2
Routine 2: Back and Biceps
Chin Up 12 X 2
Lat Pulldown 10 X 3
Seated Row 8 X 2
Dumbbell Row 8 X 2
Straight Bar Curl 12 X 3
Preacher Curl 12 X 3
Dumbbell Curl 8 X 2
Routine 3: Legs
Squat 10 X 3
Leg Press 10 X 3
Leg Extension 10 X 3
Straight Leg Deadlift 10 X 2
Seated Leg Curl 12 X 3
Heel Raise 12 X 3
Seated Calf 12 X 3
After All: Curl Up X 15/20-30 minutes of cardio.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
You don't feel sore anymore because your muscles are used to doing work. However that definitely doesn't mean you aren't working them out hard enough, so don't worry about it. Assuming you're doing it for muscle gains, as long as you work them to near failure you're good.
siliconenhanced: I would love to critique that plan because I see a ton wrong with it, but I'm a weakling who just happens to know stuff while you're pretty strong so it'd feel wrong. I just don't get, though, why you're doing squats AND leg press, chin-ups AND lat pulldown, three kinds of curls, etc. There's also no reason to do regular bench AND dumbbell bench.
This isn't even getting into the issue of "toning".
also, are your "12x3" 3 sets of 12 or 12 sets of 3? I'm guessing the first one -- just to avoid confusion, it's usually written the other way around.
Spot reduction is a myth. Working out your stomach does not make you lose fat in your stomach; losing fat makes you lose fat in your stomach. Depending on your genetics and environmental factors we don't yet know how to control, different areas of your body will get/lose fat at different rates. Most of my fat goes to my stomach, face, and ass, but my legs look amazing. Someone else might have the opposite problem, with fatty arms/legs, but less fatty stomach/ass. In general, guys fat tends to go to their stomach. There is some new research that shows that certain retroviral drugs used to combat AIDS may cause hormonal changes that signal your body to send fat to certain areas; there's research continuing in this area, and within 10-20 years, we may be able to control exactly where our fat goes. However, right now, you just need to keep losing weight. It'll come off of your face eventually.
Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and toes pointed slightly outward. Descend into a squat until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Explode upward; as your hips and knees approach full extension, jump off the balls of your feet. Upon landing, move immediately into another squat. Look straight ahead and keep your torso and neck muscles tight throughout.
I prefer the same thing, but with a lunge position. They're fucking hell when you're doing them, but if you focus on intensity and rapidity while you do it, in 20 reps you'll burn more calories than an hour of jogging.
Bar raises
Something my friend and I invented while working out. Get a standard bench bar(or lighter if you're in less than athletic shape). Hold it at your waist with both hands, and moving only your shoulders, raise the bar to chin level. Hold for 10 seconds, and slowly lower it back to start position. You won't be able to do very many of these, trust me.
If you find cardio too boring or too easy, use a jump rope. 15 minutes of hard core jump roping will make you think twice before ordering that McFlurry.
The single most important piece of advice I can give you is: find a workout buddy. I am the laziest motherfucker when I'm alone, but put me with a group and I'll be damned if I'm the one falling behind. More importantly, it makes the whole experience more enjoyable.
Yeah, its 3 sets of 12.
I got it from a book I picked up, if I could find it in my boxes of books I'd put it on here. I found myself sore after it, but never pathetically so, and it seemed to work just fine.
But yeah, toning is what I need now. I'm the type of guy who bulks up ridiculously fast, but I'd like to shift gears now and get some cut in there.
"Cut" is 90% diet.
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/forumdisplay.php?f=16
this is a good place to start reading.
Sami's Unhealthy Greco-Roman Starvation Tip of the Day
So you're at your max for daily caloric intake. Still hungry, aren't ya? Get munching on that celery, it's negative calories after all. You could also eat some icecubes, or if you don't want to extra frigidity associated with ice, eat toilet paper. It will fill you up, but it's all cellulose, so you won't digest it.
I believe that's called an Upright Row. Works your traps.
Umm... I'm not sure if "eat toilet paper" is good advice.
Things I've learned from this thread that I have been doing wrong:
- I was running before I was lifting, gonna change that starting tommorow.
- Full body workout instead of diff muscle groups different days. Easy Enough
Now, the gym I go to one of those chain type places... and frankly, the equipment sucks. I'm not gonna complain however since my membership is being paid by my uncle. There are basically about 40 each of every cardio machine known to man, and about 2 each of every type of weight machines( by type I mean theres the tricep machine, the bench press machine etc.)
However, all we have as far as free weights go we have a full set of dumbbells, and thats about it. the barbell/benches they have are all set up on tracks, so I don't see the difference between them and the machines. Maybe I'm wrong here? We also have the cable machine like this
http://www.t-nation.com/img/photos/267Image16.jpg
There aren't any freestanding barbells for squats, and no pull-up bar either(but I have a home solution for that).
With all that being said, can I get an effective resistance training with just the machines? I want to lose weight more than building muscle, should I focus more on cardio then resistance training? Like, I understand that I should build muscle too cause it burns fat better, but what's the happy medium?
Okay, so May of 2005 I got on my scale and I decided that just over 300 pounds was way too much. Especially since I was getting married in April of 2006.
I started Atkins, and daily vitamins. Basically my diet consisted of eggs for breakfast, chicken nuggets or four Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers with no bun (Wrapped in lettuce) for lunch, and for dinner I'd have some chicken or maybe a cheeseburger. And diet coke, lots of fucking diet coke. 3 a day or more. Which was really bad, I know.
I didn't exercize much. I'd get on the treadmill and walk for 20 minutes, at least one mile. But I'd only do it a few times a week.
Cut to April of 2006, I'd gone from 304 pounds to 190. It was the first time since High School I'd been under 200. I felt better than I can ever remember.
After the wedding, I moved cross country and fell out of losing (or even maintaining) my weight.
I'm up to around 220 and I don't want to go any higher. A few weeks ago I cut caffine out of my diet completely. When I have a carbonated drink, it's Diet Sprite Zero, but I've been drinking a lot of water.
I started atkins last week, but it's REALLY hard to stay on. I'm craving sugars a lot more than I was last time I started the diet, and the lack of options on this diet is starting to really get to me. Also, I want to actually start getting into better shape and building a little more muscle than I already have.
So I need suggestions. What's a good, healthy, diet to be on that'll help me lose weight but at the same time will keep me energized enough that I can work out more often?
What does that mean?
Also, how much water a day should one have? I try to have around 2 litres.
Diet cola isn't really all that bad, nor is caffeine (a little caffeine is actually good for you).
Just put together a balanced, 2000ish calorie daily diet, full of things you like to eat. Eat like five or six times a day, do some cardio, and you'll be good to go. Once you hit the weight you want, bump it up to 2200-2400 calories a day, and you should be good to go.
Foods that are good: sandwiches made with whole wheat bread, especially tuna, chicken, or other fish. If you don't like wheat bread, go with a whole wheat wrap. You can do crab salad, too. Fruit and cottage cheese. Chicken and fish in general are good. Eggs. Yogurt (go with the light, fat-free stuff; should have around as much protein as it does carbs, otherwise it's not so much "yogurt" as it is "highly-processed sugar.")
You also want to get a lot of calories at breakfast. It should be your largest meal of the day, at least 500 calories. I usually do 2 eggs and a bowl of generic Total with 1% milk.
That should be fine.
I'm trying to eat a lot of vegetables and stuff though, so I don't think I'm starving myself, also I've been cutting out all junk food which i think will go a long way.
Diet Coke worked isn't all that bad, but when I was having upwards of 6 a day and very little water I figured I should just stop.
I can't really knock Atkins just because I did lose over 100 pounds in 11 months, but the lack of options, and the lack of energy I had when on the diet is the main deciding factor in me asking for help.
Thank you very much for the advice, I think switching to a 2000 calorie diet sounds like a really good idea.
Cutting out things like pasta is good, but make sure you replace them. The general rule of thumb is 30/30/40, or 30% calories from fat, 30% calories from carbohydrates, and 40% of your calories from protein (fats have way more calories per gram, so this is actually substantially fewer grams of fat than grams of carbs). In actuality, you get 9 calories from 1 gram of fat, and 4 calories from one gram of carbohydrates or protein.
Also, try to get 25 grams of dietary fiber per day. You don't have to count this as carbs, or, really, anything, since your body won't process it. It just helps to keep things clean and running, and you'll find that if you haven't been getting enough fiber, you can lose a lot of weight just by hitting that 25 grams for a couple of weeks.
I lost 50 pounds in 6 months by just eating fewer calories, and getting my exercise. Not only did I lose weight, but I substantially increased my energy level, and helped out my heart a lot (when I give blood, the guys who take my blood pressure are always shocked that a guy my size has a heart in such good shape).
I've started working out now. Because I'm out of shape, I'm sort of easing myself into it. I'm just starting, but my plan thus far has been 20 minutes on a bike machine (which has amounted to about 7 miles each time), which I'd like to bump up to 30 by the end of the week.
Now, I realize weightlifting is a large part of losing weight, but I figured I'd first get some cardio down to improve my overall health before I do any of that. I've checked out a couple of links on this page, and they've been helpful, but they're also somewhat intimidating, so I have a couple of questions, if you all would be so kind as to answer them:
- Drinks? I've done away with the soda, and while I mostly drink water, I must admit I appreciate something with a little flavor. Vitamin Water seems good to me, but it seems like a bottle of that isn't exactly light on the calories. Is that a good thing to drink occasionally? Any other suggestions?
- Daily caloric intake? What's a good number?
- Realistically, and assuming I keep up with this whole fitness thing, which I am really going to endeavor to, will I be able to see significant weight loss in my 7 month period? Again, a large part of any workout should be to just attain healthiness, I think (the whole "MUST LOSE 200 POUNDS IN TWO WEEKS ON THE SUBWAY DIET" thing doesn't seem logical or intelligent to me), but hey, I want to look good, too.
- How should I go about exercising to attain this goal as efficiently as possible?
Thank you so much, guys.
Coffee and tea are both good for you, in moderation. As an occasional drink just to get some flavor, diet cola is fine, and non-caloric.
Assuming you're an 18-25ish male, 2000-2400 is good, probably hovering around 2200.
You can healthily lose 1-2 pounds a week. More than that isn't healthy, though you may see a big initial loss when you start eating healthily (though, that's not likely, since you're not hugely overweight).
The best way to get in better shape, and be healthy, is the triumvirate: diet, cardio, and weightlifting.
Prime is doing a three-day rotation, six days a week. Twenty minutes or so of cardio, plus doing some weightlifting, broken up by muscle group. For instance, Monday and Thursday are biceps/back, Tuesday and Friday are triceps/chest/shoulders, and Wednesday and Saturday are legs/abs.
Obviously, this is fairly time-intensive, but you'll see some pretty serious gains from it if you have that level of dedication.
I've been lifting 3 days a week for 4/5 months, and while I've seen great increases in strength and I have become more chiseled, I've noticed that my weight went down 2 pounds.
Let it be known I've never had more than a thin layer of baby fat that somewhat hides my abs (though they are a bit visible). If I did any cardio it'd go away real quick.
Anyways, what gives? Not enough nutrition?
From what my friend who has a fucking bitch of a time putting on muscle (he's a skinny fuck) tells me, you need a shitload of protein, and you need to lift a shitload of weights. Have you tried reducing reps and increasing weight more? Do you have time to try a 6-day a week cycle instead of 3 days a week? How much do you eat?
You may want to try eating more protein (possibly in the form of whey), and making sure you get 20 or so grams immediately after working out (preferably within about 10 minutes or so, but anytime in the next 45 minutes or so helps considerably, according to a lot of health magazine articles posted at my gym).
As for that layer of fat, try throwing 15 minutes of intense cardio in at the end of your weightlifting (do a 5-minute warmup and a 5-minute cooldown; running, if you're not very big), combined with increasing your calorie intake. That should help you burn off that last bit of fat, plus it'll be good for your heart.
If you're not seeing gains, the key is to change something. If you can, talk to a personal trainer.
I used to be a bouncer and this sort of stuff was, well, more important to me then but I did pick up some really useful information.
Resistance training and cardio.
Lean muscle mass will help your body burn fat more efficiently while you're not actually working out and Cardio provides a large but temporal boost in the fat burning process.
One thing that I see a lot of people forgetting is to eat. Be sure to consume a high level of protein within thirty minutes of your workout. Protein is necessary to repair the muscle which you spent all that time working on. The sooner you can get the protein in your system the better your body will react to the work you just put into it. I like egg whites over protein drinks, but that's just a preference. This goes for both Strength training and Cardio.
This next part is a bit difficult for me:
Do Cardio either before you lift or on days you don't lift. Cardio before lifting will let you burn through a lot of the fat you've built up over the near past and lifting afterwards will allow you to maintain a lowered but still higher than at rest heart rate and prolongs the efficient cardio burn.
However, some may find it difficult to lift after doing a cardio workout. As your body gets used to the change you'll find this isn't the case anymore (naturally).
Another reason to do Cardio before Strength:
For the most part your body can only take about 45 minutes of weight training before it releases a chemical which drastically slows the rate at which muscle is being broken down (you must break down muscle to repair it with protein into a more efficient member of your body). So, do not strength train for more than 45 minutes. Once you hit that mark you should finish your last set and get some protein in your system because your muscles are already rebuilding.
Beyond that, my routine is as follows:
Squats. Just good ol' core. Do these and then whatever 'area' things you'd like to work on.
Bench. The second core. Again, do these first and then whatever other 'area' afterwards.
Dead lift. The final of my triad.
By 'area' I mean, typically, lower body, upper body and trunk. There are too many exercises for these areas to detail here so do what you think feels best.
I won't talk about reps vs weight. That's a whole difference in what is wanted by the individual sort of issue. I hope I've contributed in some way to an all around useful understanding of exercise and health.
Ryan M Long Photography
Buy my Prints!
So, this is a second of the "cardio before weightlifting if you want to lose weight" advice.
Keep in mind, though, that a lot of people have different levels of success with different things. What works for one person, or even "in general" may not work for you.
Which is one of the more frustrating things about fitness; the sheer variability between bodies and body type. All that can really be said is what works for you and what typically works in general.
Ryan M Long Photography
Buy my Prints!
If you have been working out, have gained strength but not muscle, that means you aren't lifting heavy enough.
Solution: Increase weight and number of sets, decrease the number of repetitions.
If I am doing bicep curls with 20lbs dumbbells, 3 sets of 12, this won't give me much muscle. On the other hand, I can be sure to see noticable increase in muscle size if I change it to 30lbs, 5 sets of 4 (4 is in this case very close to exhaustion for me).
I've read on some places like T-nation that the idea is that muscle gains are directly proportional to how much extra work your muscle does in how little amount of time.
You have to be careful however about injuries and such. When you're switching from a 10/3 to, say, a 4/6, it's easy to injure yourself because you aren't used to the heavy weight.